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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Darren and I had a less than stellar parent moment Friday night. We were both stressed; we planned to go to Lafayette for the weekend for Festival International, and Darren didn't make it home from work until 7:30. So, we didn't begin our four-hour drive until 8:30. We were all hungry and tired, but looking forward to the festival.

Zach chose to wear his new flip flops for the trip, and I had set out his tennis shoes to be packed in the suitcase. I gave Zoe a bottle right before we left the house, and both the kids fell asleep. I took a nap with my head resting on the armrest between the front seats. Friday nights are brutal on all of us.

We stopped to get gas somewhere between Lake Charles and Lafayette, and when Darren got out of the car, Zoe started crying. Zachary is not the nicest when he is woken up, and he began shushing Zoe. I took him out and he and I went to the restroom. When we got back in the car, he began shushing Zoe again, and both Darren and I corrected him for it. Darren looked through the window, and Zachary was in Zoe's face, ordering her to be quiet. Darren opened Zach's door and gave him a couple of swats on the leg. That didn't stop him; when I corrected him, he retorted with, "That goes for you, too, Mom!" I then got out of the car and spanked him.

Zoe quieted down, Darren came back in the car, and we headed to Lafayette. Saturday morning, Zachary wanted to go outside with my dad to see the garden, but could only find one flip flop. We discovered that Darren hadn't packed his tennis shoes, and also realized that one of Zach's flip flops must have fallen out of the car when we opened his car door to spank him. So, my dad took him to Target and bought him two new pairs of shoes. I'll have to replace those flip flops; Darren and I both feel bad about it.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

I feel like things are getting out of hand over here, and when they do, I generally just shut down and don't accomplish anything worthwhile. I feel like the house has been out of control since coming home from South Carolina, and I'm just not motivated enough to do anything about it. Zoe's crib and the dining room table are full of clean clothes, and there are still more dirty things to be washed. I need to take care of that before Chance sleeps on all the clean clothes and I have to rewash them!

Besides the laundry, last week was a blur. I spent the evenings, when I wasn't procrastinating, pulling things out to sell in a garage sale. I hoped to make enough money to pay for my summer school class, and stayed up until 1:00 Saturday morning pricing things. My friend Jennifer spent the night Friday night, and we loaded up three SUVS of stuff to sell. We spent from 6:00am-12:30pm in a junior high parking lot, and I made $177. It's more than I had before, and I did get lots of things out of our house, but I was disappointed that the clothes that I had didn't sell. I ended up just donating what was left to a charity.

I found out last Friday that I did not get the art position at my school. I'm a little disappointed, but not devastated. I think my partners took it harder than I did! My principal and I had a good talk, and she knows that I plan to resign. I did apply for an art position at an elementary school on Friday, but that principal never responded, and the position is gone now. I feel like this is an opportunity for me to figure out what I can do that will make me happy, and is a push in that direction. I need to find a job by August 15th, since that will be when I receive my last paycheck from the school district. Maybe another art position will come up; if not, I will find something different (what?) to do beginning when school starts in the fall.

We found a new babysitter for Zoe, and she will start next Monday. I love our current sitter, but she just doesn't seem too settled. She's moving out of her rental home May 1st, and is moving in with another family who she sits for. They still don't have a place to move to, and I am not comfortable with her watching Zoe in someone else's home. I hate to lose her, but I need stability. We found a lady who has been watching kids for 23 years, and her 3-car garage has been converted into her daycare. She has six children who she watches, and is state-registered. I think we will really like her, but I don't want to have to pay her all summer to keep a place for Zoe in the fall. Zoe will probably go to the daycare that Zach went to, but they don't take kids until their first birthday.

I guess I'd better go tackle some of Mt. Clothesmore and make Zachary start his homework. We are heading to Lafayette this weekend for Festival International, and it is also Darren's 39th birthday. I hope the weather cooperates!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

My ENT's office called this morning with the results of the sinus CT scan that I had Tuesday. That was an interesting experience; Zach came with me, and was able to sit with the tech and watch the monitor. I wish I could have seen what was going on!

Anyway, I have a left maxillary sinus mucousal thickening, a polyp on the left side, and a septal deviation the the left. I am going back to the doctor on May 7th to discuss treatment options, and I am dreading it. I am sure he is going to want to do surgery, and I really don't want to do that. I wouldn't be able to have the surgery until after school let out for the summer, and my summer school class starts before school ends, and lasts all summer long. Plus, I panic when I can't breathe through my nose. I think I would have to be sedated after the surgery, when I was in bandages.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

I will post details later, but Carter Michael House was born at 11:41pm last night. He weighs 8 pounds, 4 ounces, and is 20.5 inches long. You can view his webpage here. It was so cool to get to witness a birth, and not be the one in the bed!

Yesterday was a long day, starting at 4:40am when I woke up, and ending at 1:30am, when Mom and I came home from the hospital. Needless to say, I didn't do a whole lot today. Mom and I ran errands for Natalie, then visited in the hospital for a few hours. We're going to take it easy at the house tonight, considering my dad is sick. Zoe is cranky, and I think it's from all of the people holding her the past few days. The House family is coming home from the hospital tomorrow, and it will be nice to see Carter at home.

Friday, April 04, 2008

Not really. It's been a long week, and I am thankful that it is (almost) over. After much deliberation, Darren bought a black Honda CR-V Tuesday night. I spent three hours cooking dinner that night, not realizing that he wasn't going to be home to eat it. I made my friend Jennifer come over and eat while waiting for Darren to get home. The CR-V is really nice, and I even got to drive it to Cub Scouts last night! It's roomy enough for us to take a family trip in it, but small enough that it gets good gas mileage.

Getting ready for my substitute next week was such a headache. There are so many details to leave, along with very specific lesson plans and copies. Not to mention instructions for the TAKS test on Tuesday. Another teacher is going to cover my room that day, and my substitute will be sent off to sixth grade. I just hope that everything goes smoothly. The kids know the routine, but for a lot of them, it seems like they have given up on school for the year. That's scary, because we have eight more weeks of school. Speaking of school, there hasn't been a word said to me about the job. I was hoping to find out before the end of this week, but I am not sure what their timeframe is. I signed my contract for next year, and I have until July 11th to resign.

Zoe and I are headed to South Carolina in the morning. My purse and diaper bag have been cleaned out, the cameras are charged, and all of the clothes are clean. I just need to get everything in a suitcase and get my entertainment stuff together. I doubt there will be much time for that, though, since I am flying alone with an infant. I hope we both make it back in one piece, and aren't dropped off the airplane in midair. Zoe is such a good baby, but when she cries, it's piercing. My pediatrician suggested Benadryl before flying; we'll see if I'm brave enough. If everything goes well, I'll have a new nephew on Monday. Maybe this will inspire my sister to actually post something on her blog, since it's been over a year!